For a brief, sickening moment Tarzan felt the slipping ofthe rope to which he clung, and heard the scraping ofthe block of stone against the masonry above.

Then of a sudden the rope was still--the stone had caught atthe very edge. Gingerly the ape-man clambered up the frail rope.In a moment his head was above the edge of the shaft.The court was empty. The inhabitants of Opar were viewingthe sacrifice. Tarzan could hear the voice of La from thenearby sacrificial court. The dance had ceased. It must bealmost time for the knife to fall; but even as he thought thesethings he was running rapidly toward the sound of the highpriestess' voice.

Fate guided him to the very doorway of the great roofless chamber.Between him and the altar was the long row of priests andpriestesses, awaiting with their golden cups the spillingof the warm blood of their victim. La's hand was descendingslowly toward the bosom of the frail, quiet figure that laystretched upon the hard stone. Tarzan gave a gasp that wasalmost a sob as he recognized the features of the girl he loved.And then the scar upon his forehead turned to a flaming band ofscarlet, a red mist floated before his eyes, and, with theawful roar of the bull ape gone mad, he sprang like a hugelion into the midst of the votaries.

Seizing a cudgel from the nearest priest, he laid about him likea veritable demon as he forged his rapid way toward the altar.The hand of La had paused at the first noise of interruption.When she saw who the author of it was she went white.She had never been able to fathom the secret of thestrange white man's escape from the dungeon in which shehad locked him. She had not intended that he should everleave Opar, for she had looked upon his giant frame andhandsome face with the eyes of a woman and not thoseof a priestess.

In her clever mind she had concocted a story of wonderfulrevelation from the lips of the flaming god himself,in which she had been ordered to receive this whitestranger as a messenger from him to his people on earth.That would satisfy the people of Opar, she knew. The manwould be satisfied, she felt quite sure, to remain and be herhusband rather than to return to the sacrificial altar.

But when she had gone to explain her plan to him hehad disappeared, though the door had been tightly lockedas she had left it. And now he had returned--materializedfrom thin air--and was killing her priests as though theyhad been sheep. For the moment she forgot her victim,and before she could gather her wits together again thehuge white man was standing before her, the woman who hadlain upon the altar in his arms.

"One side, La," he cried. "You saved me once, and so Iwould not harm you; but do not interfere or attempt tofollow, or I shall have to kill you also."

As he spoke he stepped past her toward the entrance to thesubterranean vaults.

"Who is she?" asked the high priestess, pointing atthe unconscious woman.

"She is mine," said Tarzan of the Apes.

For a moment the girl of Opar stood wide-eyed and staring.Then a look of hopeless misery suffused her eyes--tears welled into them, and with a little cry she sank tothe cold floor, just as a swarm of frightful men dashed pasther to leap upon the ape-man.

But Tarzan of the Apes was not there when they reachedout to seize him. With a light bound he had disappearedinto the passage leading to the pits below, and when hispursuers came more cautiously after they found the chamberempty, they but laughed and jabbered to one another, forthey knew that there was no exit from the pits other than theone through which he had entered. If he came out at all hemust come this way, and they would wait and watch for him above.

And so Tarzan of the Apes, carrying the unconscious JanePorter, came through the pits of Opar beneath the temple ofThe Flaming God without pursuit. But when the men ofOpar had talked further about the matter, they recalled tomind that this very man had escaped once before into thepits, and, though they had watched the entrance he hadnot come forth; and yet today he had come upon them fromthe outside. They would again send fifty men out into thevalley to find and capture this desecrater of their temple.

After Tarzan reached the shaft beyond the broken wall,he felt so positive of the successful issue of his flight thathe stopped to replace the tumbled stones, for he was notanxious that any of the inmates should discover thisforgotten passage, and through it come upon the treasure chamber.It was in his mind to return again to Opar and bear awaya still greater fortune than he had already buried in theamphitheater of the apes.

On through the passageways he trotted, past the first doorand through the treasure vault; past the second door andinto the long, straight tunnel that led to the lofty hiddenexit beyond the city. Jane Porter was still unconscious.

At the crest of the great bowlder he halted to cast abackward glance toward the city. Coming across the plainhe saw a band of the hideous men of Opar. For a momenthe hesitated. Should he descend and make a race for the distantcliffs, or should he hide here until night? And then a glance atthe girl's white face determined him. He could not keep herhere and permit her enemies to get between them and liberty.For aught he knew they might have been followedthrough the tunnels, and to have foes before and behindwould result in almost certain capture, since he could notfight his way through the enemy burdened as he was withthe unconscious girl.

To descend the steep face of the bowlder with JanePorter was no easy task, but by binding her across hisshoulders with the grass rope he succeeded in reaching theground in safety before the Oparians arrived at the great rock.As the descent had been made upon the side away from the city,the searching party saw nothing of it, nor did they dreamthat their prey was so close before them.

By keeping the KOPJE between them and their pursuers,Tarzan of the Apes managed to cover nearly a mile beforethe men of Opar rounded the granite sentinel and sawthe fugitive before them. With loud cries of savage delight,they broke into a mad run, thinking doubtless that theywould soon overhaul the burdened runner; but they bothunderestimated the powers of the ape-man and overestimatedthe possibilities of their own short, crooked legs.

By maintaining an easy trot, Tarzan kept the distancebetween them always the same. Occasionally he would glanceat the face so near his own. Had it not been for the faintbeating of the heart pressed so close against his own, hewould not have known that she was alive, so white and drawnwas the poor, tired face.

And thus they came to the flat-topped mountain and thebarrier cliffs. During the last mile Tarzan had let himself out,running like a deer that he might have ample time to descendthe face of the cliffs before the Oparians could reach thesummit and hurl rocks down upon them. And so it was thathe was half a mile down the mountainside ere the fierce littlemen came panting to the edge.

With cries of rage and disappointment they ranged alongthe cliff top shaking their cudgels, and dancing up anddown in a perfect passion of anger. But this time they didnot pursue beyond the boundary of their own country.Whether it was because they recalled the futility of theirformer long and irksome search, or after witnessing the easewith which the ape-man swung along before them, and thelast burst of speed, they realized the utter hopelessness offurther pursuit, it is difficult to say; but as Tarzan reachedthe woods that began at the base of the foothills whichskirted the barrier cliffs they turned their faces once moretoward Opar.

Just within the forest's edge, where he could yet watch thecliff tops, Tarzan laid his burden upon the grass, and going tothe near-by rivulet brought water with which he bathedher face and hands; but even this did not revive her, and,greatly worried, he gathered the girl into his strong arms oncemore and hurried on toward the west.

Late in the afternoon Jane Porter regained consciousness.She did not open her eyes at once--she was trying to recallthe scenes that she had last witnessed. Ah, she remembered now.The altar, the terrible priestess, the descending knife.She gave a little shudder, for she thought that either this wasdeath or that the knife had buried itself in her heart andshe was experiencing the brief delirium preceding death.And when finally she mustered courage to open her eyes,the sight that met them confirmed her fears, for she saw thatshe was being borne through a leafy paradise in the armsof her dead love. "If this be death," she murmured, "thankGod that I am dead."

"You spoke, Jane!" cried Tarzan. "You are regaining consciousness!"

"Yes, Tarzan of the Apes," she replied, and for the firsttime in months a smile of peace and happiness lighted her face.

"Thank God!" cried the ape-man, coming to the ground ina little grassy clearing beside the stream. "I was in time,after all."

"In time? What do you mean?" she questioned.

"In time to save you from death upon the altar, dear,"he replied. "Do you not remember?""Save me from death?" she asked, in a puzzled tone."Are we not both dead, my Tarzan?"

He had placed her upon the grass by now, her back restingagainst the stem of a huge tree. At her question hestepped back where he could the better see her face.

"Dead!" he repeated, and then he laughed. "You are not,Jane; and if you will return to the city of Opar and askthem who dwell there they will tell you that I was not deada few short hours ago. No, dear, we are both very much alive."

"But both Hazel and Monsieur Thuran told me that youhad fallen into the ocean many miles from land," she urged,as though trying to convince him that he must indeedbe dead. "They said that there was no question but thatit must have been you, and less that you could have survivedor been picked up."

"How can I convince you that I am no spirit?" he asked,with a laugh. "It was I whom the delightful Monsieur Thuranpushed overboard, but I did not drown--I will tell you allabout it after a while--and here I am very much the samewild man you first knew, Jane Porter."

The girl rose slowly to her feet and came toward him.

"I cannot even yet believe it," she murmured. "It cannotbe that such happiness can be true after all the hideousthings that I have passed through these awful months sincethe LADY ALICE went down."

She came close to him and laid a hand, soft and trembling,upon his arm.

"It must be that I am dreaming, and that I shall awakenin a moment to see that awful knife descending toward myheart--kiss me, dear, just once before I lose my dream forever."

Tarzan of the Apes needed no second invitation. He tookthe girl he loved in his strong arms, and kissed her not once,but a hundred times, until she lay there panting for breath;yet when he stopped she put her arms about his neck anddrew his lips down to hers once more.

"Am I alive and a reality, or am I but a dream?" he asked.

"If you are not alive, my man," she answered, "I praythat I may die thus before I awaken to the terriblerealities of my last waking moments."

For a while both were silent--gazing into each others'eyes as though each still questioned the reality of thewonderful happiness that had come to them. The past, with allits hideous disappointments and horrors, was forgotten--thefuture did not belong to them; but the present--ah, it wastheirs; none could take it from them. It was the girl whofirst broke the sweet silence.

"Where are we going, dear?" she asked. "What are wegoing to do?"

"Where would you like best to go?" he asked. "What wouldyou like best to do?"

"To go where you go, my man; to do whatever seemsbest to you," she answered.

"But Clayton?" he asked. For a moment he had forgottenthat there existed upon the earth other than they two."We have forgotten your husband."

"I am not married, Tarzan of the Apes," she cried."Nor am I longer promised in marriage. The day before thoseawful creatures captured me I spoke to Mr. Clayton of mylove for you, and he understood then that I could not keepthe wicked promise that I had made. It was after we hadbeen miraculously saved from an attacking lion." She pausedsuddenly and looked up at him, a questioning light in her eyes."Tarzan of the Apes," she cried, "it was you who didthat thing? It could have been no other."

He dropped his eyes, for he was ashamed.

"How could you have gone away and left me?" she cried reproachfully.

"Don't, Jane!" he pleaded. "Please don't! You cannotknow how I have suffered since for the cruelty of that act,or how I suffered then, first in jealous rage, and then inbitter resentment against the fate that I had not deserved.I went back to the apes after that, Jane, intending neveragain to see a human being." He told her then of his lifesince he had returned to the jungle--of how he had droppedlike a plummet from a civilized Parisian to a savage Waziriwarrior, and from there back to the brute that he had been raised.

She asked him many questions, and at last fearfully of thethings that Monsieur Thuran had told her--of the woman in Paris.He narrated every detail of his civilized life to her,omitting nothing, for he felt no shame, since his heart alwayshad been true to her. When he had finished he sat looking ather, as though waiting for her judgment, and his sentence.

"I knew that he was not speaking the truth," she said."Oh, what a horrible creature he is!"

"You are not angry with me, then?" he asked.

And her reply, though apparently most irrelevant, wastruly feminine.

"Is Olga de Coude very beautiful?" she asked.

And Tarzan laughed and kissed her again. "Not one-tenthso beautiful as you, dear," he said.

She gave a contented little sigh, and let her head restagainst his shoulder. He knew that he was forgiven.

That night Tarzan built a snug little bower high amongthe swaying branches of a giant tree, and there the tiredgirl slept, while in a crotch beneath her the ape-man curled,ready, even in sleep, to protect her.

It took them many days to make the long journey tothe coast. Where the way was easy they walked hand in handbeneath the arching boughs of the mighty forest, as mightin a far-gone past have walked their primeval forbears.When the underbrush was tangled he took her in his great arms,and bore her lightly through the trees, and the days were alltoo short, for they were very happy. Had it not been fortheir anxiety to reach and succor Clayton they would have drawnout the sweet pleasure of that wonderful journey indefinitely.

On the last day before they reached the coast Tarzan caughtthe scent of men ahead of them--the scent of black men.He told the girl, and cautioned her to maintain silence."There are few friends in the jungle," he remarked dryly.

In half an hour they came stealthily upon a small party ofblack warriors filing toward the west. As Tarzan saw themhe gave a cry of delight--it was a band of his own Waziri.Busuli was there, and others who had accompanied him to Opar.At sight of him they danced and cried out in exuberant joy.For weeks they had been searching for him, they told him.

The blacks exhibited considerable wonderment at thepresence of the white girl with him, and when they found thatshe was to be his woman they vied with one another to doher honor. With the happy Waziri laughing and dancingabout them they came to the rude shelter by the shore.

There was no sign of life, and no response to their calls.Tarzan clambered quickly to the interior of the little treehut, only to emerge a moment later with an empty tin.Throwing it down to Busuli, he told him to fetch water, andthen he beckoned Jane Porter to come up.

Together they leaned over the emaciated thing that oncehad been an English nobleman. Tears came to the girl's eyesas she saw the poor, sunken cheeks and hollow eyes, and thelines of suffering upon the once young and handsome face.

"He still lives," said Tarzan. "We will do all that can bedone for him, but I fear that we are too late."

When Busuli had brought the water Tarzan forced a fewdrops between the cracked and swollen lips. He wetted thehot forehead and bathed the pitiful limbs.

Presently Clayton opened his eyes. A faint, shadowy smilelighted his countenance as he saw the girl leaning over him.At sight of Tarzan the expression changed to one of wonderment.

"It's all right, old fellow," said the ape-man. "We've foundyou in time. Everything will be all right now, and we'llhave you on your feet again before you know it."

The Englishman shook his head weakly. "It's too late,"he whispered. "But it's just as well. I'd rather die."

"Where is Monsieur Thuran?" asked the girl.

"He left me after the fever got bad. He is a devil.When I begged for the water that I was too weak to get he drankbefore me, threw the rest out, and laughed in my face."At the thought of it the man was suddenly animated by a sparkof vitality. He raised himself upon one elbow. "Yes," healmost shouted; "I will live. I will live long enough to findand kill that beast!" But the brief effort left him weaker thanbefore, and he sank back again upon the rotting grasses that,with his old ulster, had been the bed of Jane Porter.

"Don't worry about Thuran," said Tarzan of the Apes,laying a reassuring hand on Clayton's forehead. "He belongsto me, and I shall get him in the end, never fear."

For a long time Clayton lay very still. Several timesTarzan had to put his ear quite close to the sunken chestto catch the faint beating of the wornout heart.Toward evening he aroused again for a brief moment.

"Jane," he whispered. The girl bent her head closer to catchthe faint message. "I have wronged you--and him," he noddedweakly toward the ape-man. "I loved you so--it is a poorexcuse to offer for injuring you; but I could not bear tothink of giving you up. I do not ask your forgiveness. I onlywish to do now the thing I should have done over a year ago."He fumbled in the pocket of the ulster beneath himfor something that he had discovered there while he laybetween the paroxysms of fever. Presently he found it--acrumpled bit of yellow paper. He handed it to the girl,and as she took it his arm fell limply across his chest, hishead dropped back, and with a little gasp he stiffened andwas still. Then Tarzan of the Apes drew a fold of the ulsteracross the upturned face.

For a moment they remained kneeling there, the girl'slips moving in silent prayer, and as they rose and stood oneither side of the now peaceful form, tears came to the ape-man's eyes, for through the anguish that his own heart hadsuffered he had learned compassion for the suffering of others.

Through her own tears the girl read the message uponthe bit of faded yellow paper, and as she read her eyes wentvery wide. Twice she read those startling words before shecould fully comprehend their meaning.

Finger prints prove you Greystoke. Congratulations.D'ARNOT.

She handed the paper to Tarzan. "And he has known it allthis time," she said, "and did not tell you?"

"I knew it first, Jane," replied the man. "I did not knowthat he knew it at all. I must have dropped this messagethat night in the waiting room. It was there that I received it."

"And afterward you told us that your mother was a she-ape,and that you had never known your father?" she asked incredulously.

"The title and the estates meant nothing to me without you,dear," he replied. "And if I had taken them awayfrom him I should have been robbing the woman I love--don't you understand, Jane?" It was as though he attemptedto excuse a fault.

She extended her arms toward him across the body of thedead man, and took his hands in hers.

"And I would have thrown away a love like that!" she said.